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Circus of Crime
The Circus of Crime is a fictional villainous organization in the Marvel Comics universe. Fictional team biography Modern day Originally a spy organization employed by the Nazis during World War II, Tiboldt's Circus was a traveling circus led by Maynard Tiboldt, the Ringmaster, and he and his performers would use their special skills and talents to rob their audiences. The Circus first came to the authorities' attention when they carried out a series of robberies of small towns using the Ringmaster's skill in hypnotism to mesmerize entire towns. Regrettably for the Circus, Rick Jones was one of the victims of their capers, and his involvement led to the involvement of the Hulk, and the Circus' arrest.Incredible Hulk #3 After a brief stretch in prison, the Circus visited New York City, where they battled both Spider-Man and Daredevil. The Circus' core members later briefly operated as the Masters of Menace. The Circus of Crime established themselves as recurrent antagonists in several Marvel Comics series, where they briefly recruited Hawkeye, Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch into their ranks, hypnotized Thor into assisting with one of their schemes, attempted to sabotage the Wasp and Yellowjacket's wedding, and battled against Daredevil and Power Man. They later fought Power Pack, the Thunderbolts and Generation X. Initially depicted as credible villains, the Circus of Crime's members were gradually used by writers as comic foils, and were once defeated by Howard the Duck. They were featured as antagonists in the first issue of the Sensational She-Hulk second series. Old West Oddly, there were two organizations in the Old West who dubbed themselves the Circus of Crime. Both teams fought against Kid Colt. Maynard Tiboldt's father, Fritz, ran a travelling circus and was also a Nazi agent. Sent to America to murder US Government officials, under cover of his circus activities, Tiboldt and his gang fell afoul of Captain America and were deported back to Germany, where Fritz Tiboldt and his wife were subsequently murdered by their former employers. Members Modern Day * Ringmaster (Maynard Tiboldt) - hypnotist and leader * The Clown (Eliot "Crafty" Franklin) - occasional leader, also works as a solo assassin; has a son, Corky Franklin. * Bruto the Strong Man (Bruce Olafson) - Strongman from Sweden. *Teena the Fat Lady (Mary Stensen) - a sideshow performer; she left the circus in an effort to raise a family but eventually returned. * Human Cannonball (Jack Pulver) * The The Great Gambonnos (Ernesto & Luigi Gambonno)Amazing Spider-Man #16 - Italian acrobats. * Live Wire (Rance Preston) - former agent of the Psycho-Man. *Rajah (Kabir Mahadevu)Super-Villain Team-Up #8 - elephant trainer. * Fire-Eater (Tomas Ramirez)Marvel Two-In-One #76 - led the others to force Clown back into crime when he attempted to retire. * Iron Jack Baker *Antoro''Amazing Spider-Man '98'' *Tarrax the Tamer Former members * Ringmaster (Fritz Tiboldt)Captain America Comics #5 - Austrian, father of Maynard, led Tiboldt's circus in the 1930s, he was murdered by Nazis * Princess Python (Zelda DuBois) - has also been a member of the Masters of Menace, Serpent Squad, Serpent Society and Femizons. * Incredible Hulk (Bruce Banner) * Thor (Sigurd Jarlson) * Ulik * Dragon Man * Devil Dinosaur - hypnotized * Moon-Boy - hypnotized * Blackwing (Joseph Manfredi) - also has been a member of HYDRA, the Skeleton Crew and the Masters of Evil; he is the son of Silvermane *Professor''Human Torch Comics'' #1 - built Rayon Gun, killed by Samson when he stole the gun 19th Century This team briefly forced Kid Colt to assist them until he exposed them. * Sawyer''Kid Colt, Outlaw'' #106 - owner; strongman * Blade Benson - swordsman * Captain Corbett - animal trainer * Mr. Marvel - high-wire artiste * The Tumbling Turners - acrobats Old West (1870s) * Iron Mask''Kid Colt'' #110 - armored shootist; former blacksmith who organized Circus of Crime and another band of costumed criminals * Bennington Brown''Kid Colt'' #112 - hypnotist * Fat Man''Kid Colt'' #117 - boomerang-thrower * Doctor Danger''Kid Colt'' #116 - ventriloquist; used magnetic weaponry; also was a member of the Chain Gang. * The Living Totem''Rawhide Kid'' #22 - extraterrestrial giant * Hurricane (Harry Kane)Two Gun Kid #70 - superspeed; marksmanship; former agent of the Iron Mask; he stole a magic potion from a witch doctor and drank it after the potion was struck by lightning * The Rattler''Rawhide Kid'' #37 - acrobat; horseman; marksman * Red Raven''Rawhide Kid'' #38 - winged shootist; he was given magic wings by an elderly Navajo prisoner. Other Media Television * The Circus of Crime appears in "The Incredible Hulk" portion of The Marvel Superheroes. * The Circus of Crime appears in The Avengers: United They Stand episode "Comes a Swordsman." External links * Circus of Crime at MarvelDirectory.com Category:Marvel Comics supervillain teams Category:Fictional circus performers Category:1962 comics characters debuts